Bishop Estate
Reader Response

Estate could do better
with only one trustee

Regarding the Bishop Estate trustee situation, I have a solution: Make me the sole trustee. Doing so will bring immediate fiscal benefits to the estate. If the six trustees earn a total of $4.8 million ($800,000 per person annually), I will ask for a commission of "only" $480,000. This will instantly save the estate approximately $4.3 million.

Appointing me will bring other benefits to Hawaii. For one thing, I would halt the estate's tendency of sucking money out of the state, and instead invest in local businesses and other Hawaiian opportunities.

And I wouldn't have apparent conflicts of interest like Henry Peters, for example, because the estate would be my sole focus. Another problem solved.

James Ko(Via the Internet)

It's laughable that
Jervis is fearful of 'outsiders'

Let's see if I understand this correctly. Trustee Gerard Jervis tells Kamehameha Schools staff that the princess' will must be defended against "outside interests." So whom is he defending?

An organization that only takes in an estimated one-eighth of the eligible Hawaiian children, while a hand-picked cadre of Democratic Party loyalists siphon into their pockets upwards of a million bucks a year?

An organization that removes enormous wealth out of the community, tax free, while Hawaiians and their fellow citizens suffer and lose economic ground?

A system that is now worth anywhere from $2.7-$10 billion, which in spite of booming stock and land markets has been cutting programs for Hawaiian children? A trusteeship that has lost tens of millions of dollars on bad investments while pocketing millions in land commissions?

I don't know which outsiders Jervis is referring to, but the word "carpetbagger" comes to mind when I think of trustee greed and arrogance. Only these folks are homegrown!

Khalil Spencer(Via the Internet)

Trustees are underpaid?
No way, Senator Akaka!

First, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka embarrasses himself and the people of Hawaii with his racist remarks regarding Asian fund-raising. Then he makes the statement that the Bishop Estate trustees are underpaid.

He should get out of politics before he gets impeached.

Donald Allen(Via the Internet)

Arrogance permeates
interview with Lindsay

I was impressed by how arrogant, unusually possessive and highly unprofessional trustee Lokelani Lindsey came off in her Aug. 14 interview ("Kamehameha plans outlined"). She stated, "We did a very in-depth assessment and audit of the school (in 1994) to see if our programs were producing the kinds of results we wanted and to see if our money was being well spent." The words "results we wanted" and "our money" seemed rather inappropriate, although telling.

As for the claimed teary eyes over having to sack staff that had been with the school for a long time, I question why it was necessary to cut programs to generate the $11 million to fund the "Go Forward" initiative.

Did the trustees feel pressed for funds following the $70-80 million losses taken in the last two years? The absence of these losses alone could have easily financed a gradual attrition plan.

Letters

There's always room
for another feasibility study

Let me see, we have almost built a convention center, but we are still studying the impact of traffic in that area. The study of the environmental impact on the Ala Wai Canal has been put on hold for a while, to have another study on the number of canoeists over the last 30 years who have contracted some incurable disease, in which case the other study would be further delayed by the filing of lawsuits.

We can't get ships through the Kalihi Channel because it's too narrow, and the expensive drawbridge doesn't work properly so we'll shut it down.

However, there's a good chance we can build a tunnel to speed up delivery of our precious cargoes. We can get rid of the bridge and then ships can pass to and from with more efficiency.

Maybe we can have another impact study, which will enable us to determine the possibility of this in 2020.

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